Sweet and Sour Beef Brisket - 100th Post!

Happy 100th post to us!  We've been through our ups and downs with this blog over the years but Mostly Soup is still kicking.  Thanks to all those who read our stuff.  We like keeping this blog up for a reference journal of our own accord and those who follow along are icing on the cake.  So raise a glass to you - THANK YOU!

I made this classic beef brisket when the rain first started in and paired with some red wine and a warm fire it was just the trick for coziness.  It would be the perfect dish to make for a stay at home New Years Eve celebration.  It feels decadent and rich but is really hands off and easy.  I didn't feel the need to make any sort of adjustments to this recipe; it was great just the way it is.  Just a heads up that you do need to start this recipe the night before you plan to serve it, or in the morning time so you have the whole day to rest it.

I roasted up some carrot and potato "coins" to go along with it.  If you have the Smitten Kitchen cookbook this recipe is in there but it's as easy as cutting up the potatoes and carrots in coin shapes and roasting until done with your favorite seasonings.

In any case I hope you get to try this out before winter is over.  Have a very happy New Years (with or without this brisket)!!

Sweet and Sour Beef Brisket
not adapted at all from Smitten Kitchen cookbook

•  4-to-5-pound (1¾ to 2¼ kg) piece beef brisket
•  1½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for initial seasoning of meat
•  Freshly ground black pepper
•  1 cup (235ml) beef stock
•  3 tablespoons (50 grams) tomato paste
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) brown sugar, light or dark
•  4 teaspoons paprika
•  2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
•  1/8 teaspoon red chili flakes
•  1 teaspoon garlic powder
•  2 tablespoons (15 grams) onion powder

Season the meat generously on both sides with salt and pepper.  Whisk all of the remaining ingredients together in a bowl.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Place the meat in a dutch oven (or any other sturdy pot with a lid) and pour the sauce over it.  Put the lid on and roast for 3 hours, or tender enough to pull apart with a fork.

Chill the entire dish in the fridge for several hours or up to one day.  This resting time will enhance the flavor and texture of the meat.  An hour before you are ready to serve it heat the oven to 300 degrees and remove the dish from the fridge.  Skim off any fat that has congealed at the top of the meat.  You can leave some if you like but I skimmed it all for a less oily finish.  Remove the meat and slice into 1/4-1/2 inch slices and put back into the sauce in the pan.  Replace the lid and put into the pre-heated oven.  Reheat until the sauce is bubbly around the edges.  Serve immediately with sauce on the side to pour or spoon over meat.

Chinese Style One Pot Beef Stew

Being in the mood for stew a lot recently is sometimes tough.  Tough in that it can often take forever to get that fall apart texture to your meat when it's a week night and you just don't have all day to make it.  I live for that meat texture - it's definitely my favorite when the meat seems to melt away.  This Chinese style one pot meal makes for a good rendition of a week night stew recipe.

It doesn't take too long, the meat texture was good, and there's minimal chopping which seems to get your meat a-stewin' quicker. I also liked doing something a little off the beaten path as far as flavor profile. The shot of greenery in the form bok choi is also a nice touch and I think broccoli would work just as well.  Hope you enjoy!

Chinese Style One Pot Beef Stew
from BBC's goodfood blog

• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch green onions
• good thumb size piece of ginger root, peeled and minced
• 1 red chili, seeded and thinly sliced (I used a jalapeno since I couldn't find a red pepper)
• 3 1/5 lbs stew beef, cut into large pieces (I used
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon chinese five spice powder
• 2 star anise 
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons dry white wine or cooking sherry
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 bunch bok choi, chopped and steamed

1.  Heat 2 tbsp of oil in large dutch oven or stock pot.  Sautee the garlic, onions, ginger and chili until soft and fragrant, about 3 minutes.  Put onto a large plate.  Toss the beef in the flour and salt and pepper generously.  Add 1 more tbsp of oil to the pot and brown the meat in two batches, adding the last tbsp of oil in between batches.  Put on the plate with the garlic sautee mixture.

2.  Add the five spice and the anise to the pot, fry for 30 seconds, then add the sugar.  Keep the heat high and add the wine or sherry, scraping up any meaty bits.  Put the meat and garlic sautee mixture back in the pot, add the stock and soy sauce (it won't cover the meat completely), and bring to a simmer.  Cook for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is very soft and sinewy bits have melted away.

3.  When the stew is close to finished, steam your bok choi and make some rice to serve stew over.  Add the bok choi to the plate with stew and rice and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.

Mushroom Barley Soup + A Thickening Trick

I was surprised that we haven't posted a classic mushroom barley soup yet.  Mushrooms being quite famous around these parts, in that Michelle and I often have long conversations regaling their merit.  DP also happens to be a huge fan so when anything has mushrooms, or mushrooms can be added, we know it's going to be a hit.  Mushroom barley happens to be one of my favorite soups because it's so simple but really hearty and filling as well.  Because there's no meat it also feels healthy and light.

I found a recipe that looked good on Saveur's site.  What appealed to me most about it was the finish with lemon; I love that touch in most anything to give the dish a brightness and a small hit of acid at the end.  However, I could tell that this soup was quite broth-y with 8 cups of stock and also the addition of the mushroom water from soaking the dried mushrooms.  So I decided to use one of my favorite tricks on thickening soups or even sauces at the very end of cooking - a Beurre Manié.  This method works essentially the same as a roux however you don't need to cook the fat and flour separately and can just knead the two together.  Also I've read that a roux can lose its thickening ability over long periods of cooking time so a beurre manie works a lot better in soups.  I like to use the pestle from my mortar and pestle set and work it together in a small dish.  A fork also works just great for this as well.  Just make sure you're working with softened butter instead of melted.  I like to nuke my butter for 20 seconds if I don't have any pre-softened. 

This soup with the addition of the thickener turned out so wonderful.  Adding the butter gave it a richness and then the lemon brightened the whole soup up to create a great balance.  I really loved it and will keep this as my go to mushroom barley from now on.  I served it with some garlic bread loaded with fresh garlic, olive oil, fresh parsley and S&P. And some red wine, natch. All in all a great winter meal!

Mushroom Barley Soup
adapted from Saveur

1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms (I used shiitake because my grocer was out of porcini)
1/4 cup olive oil
8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 lb. white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/4 cup sherry
8 cups beef stock
1/2 cup pearl barley
2 tsp. fresh thyme
2 tbsp. lemon juice
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
fresh parsley, for garnish

 Beurre Manié
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
3 tbsp. unbleached flour

1.  Place dried mushrooms in a bowl and cover with boiling water.  Cover the bowl with a lid and let sit for 30 minutes.  While these are brewing chop up your veggies and garlic.  After 30 minutes take the rehydrated mushrooms out with a slotted spoon and finely chop.  Pour soaking liquid through a fine mesh sieve into another bowl, leaving a small amount to retain any dirt or sediment.

2.  Heat oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add garlic, celery, carrots and onion; saute until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add re-hydrated mushrooms and sliced button mushrooms; saute until liquid is released and evaporated, about 14 minutes.  Add sherry and cook until evaporated, about 2 minutes.  Add reserved mushroom water, beef broth, barley and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook covered for about 30 minutes or until barley is tender.  Prepare beurre manie by blending together butter and flour in a small bowl until fully incorporated.  Add to soup pot at the very end of cooking and mix until melted.  Allow to thicken for a few minutes then add lemon juice.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with parsley.

Spicy Cabbage Soup

So, this is probably a pretty terrible first post, and long overdue! Let me just say that for the past few months, I have been making soup constantly. My blog co-conspirator, Vanessa, is the person who taught me the basics of making soup and I have seriously been making at least one pot of soup a week ever since. Soup is so easy to make, so much easier than most other recipes, and so delicious and fulfilling and usually not too unhealthy. We have made a ton of soups already, together and individually, but this blog is an attempt at documenting our many soup adventures. I am sure that V will do a better intro later. By later I am hoping that I mean soon. *hint hint*

So the first soup I am going to write about is my Step mom's Cabbage Soup. I grew up eating this soup, at home and also at the local Mexican restaurants. Having pretty much lost touch with this part of my family, I thought I would never be able to eat this tasty spicy treat ever again unless I went to Vince's back in my hometown. My good good friend Jessie made a few calls for my birthday and got me the recipe! Of course I had to make it immediately.


Here is the recipe that I transcribed from a voicemail:

1 cabbage head
1 large onion
3 beef bouillon cubes
1 tbsp cumin
1-2 tbsp chili powder
3 chopped carrots
1 can tomato juice (size??)
1 can water (again, size??)

Chop cabbage, carrot and onion
Put in pot with 1/4 cup oil, sautee
When sauteeing cabbage, add cumin and chili powder so flavors will be released in the oil as its sauteeing.
Add tomato juice, water, bouillon. salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer, eat.


As you can see, the measurements are not too exact. We used about 2 cups of tomato juice and I put in a good deal more cumin and chili powder. Instead of beef bouillon, we used beef broth and thus omitted the can of water, but if I make it again I will try the bouillon.

The final product was pretty tasty, though not exactly how I remembered it. V and I agreed that it would be really good with rice in it, or maybe potatoes. I also think some garlic might add a little extra flavor. I also feel like it should have been a little spicier, even though it was already pretty spicy. This is the kind of thing that I feel like I could tweak the recipe and get it to taste just how I remember it tasting after a few tries, but seeing as how it gave Jessie and V the worst farts ever for days, I am not sure when I will be making this again.




Please pardon my terrible photos of this soup, and my finger! Bon Appetit!

~Michelle Suzanne